I did a search but didn’t find much. But I"m looking for some good powered mic set ups for my mp3 recorder. I was so mad at myself for not buying a mic before my Ireland trip cause I heard some great music and have zero recordings, so I’m trying to make sure I’ll have something to snatch things up with when need to. Thanks for your help guys.
i’ve got the creative jukebox 3 aswell. you’ll need a pre-amp power box for a for a non-amp mic. this on works on batteries and you can plug in any kind of mic in http://www.digimania.be/en/access_list.asp?CatID=21
sorry, i haven’t tried out any other mics and my jukebox is back to the shop for repairs.(live recording problem, but i still think it’s a great player and i also like the softwear!)
I did some research on this topic and the Archos mic mentioned by Lixnaw is the only one I’ve seen with a built in pre-amp at a reasonable cost. I believe the Creative Jukebox has line-in (as opposed to mic-in), so the pre-amp helps bring the signal level up.
For U.S. readers:
http://www.archos.com/products/miscellanous_product_list.html
- Bill
Try these people: http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/category.cgi?category=9015&template=homepage
They are very competent, helpful and give educated advice. I just got a setup from them for my MiniDisc recorder.
Good Luck,
Patrick
I have a Nomad Jukebox 3 and have done some initial experiments with recording.
First of all, the latest firmware update allows you to increase the gain on the NJB3 line in. With the gain turned up appropriately, I was able to record with a powered (but not amplified) microphone. However, the gain amplification on the NJB3 is crude, and the sound quality as a result is not great. On the other hand, it’s a cheap solution and given that the sound quality at sessions is not that great anyway, it might be perfectly acceptable. Certainly if you have a microphone to play with you should try this first.
Second, I’ve purchased the Archos preamp microphone. I haven’t yet had a chance to record with it, but a couple of points worth noting: First, the preamp is not that strong. Even turned all the way up, I found that I had to add some gain in the NJB3 to bring the recording level up to nominal. (Hmm, I could probably figure out how much gain the preamp adds, couldn’t I? Anyway…) Second, the preamp is separate from the microphone. That’s nice because it means you can swap out the Archos mic and substitute your own if you have a better one.
BTW, I love my NJB3. Having my entire music collection (after days of ripping 
at my fingertips is just awesome.
– Scott
Murph,
If you’re in the area, let me know and you can try out my Sony mic first hand. See if it fits the bill. It’s an $80 job several people recommended on the board in the past. It has a battery in it. That cd I gave you was done with that mic and a minidisc recorder.
Tony
the pre-amp box can be used with any other non pre-amp mic, so the pre-amp is not realy built in
Deal, I could always use an excuse to stop in for some whistle related activities, but I suspect that you have the same mic as Azalin’s and we couldn’t get it to work this past Willie Week as it’s only a powered mic and not a preamped mic. Oh and bye the way, I really like some of the tunes on that cd you gave me so I’ll be emailing you in the future for the names of them (Sorry, but I’m one of those people that need to know the names of what I’m playing) but I’ve listened to it a couple times now and I’ve really enjoyed it.
Hey Cara, if you read this, what kind of set up do you use for your mp3 player cause I loved the clarity on your Maid Behind the Bar clip.
Jack,
I just emailed you the tracklist. I used your email from your profile on the board. (I know you use 2 or 3 email addresses- nefarious purposes?)
I just can’t believe you’re one of those people who has to know the names of the tunes he’s playing. You should be content to hold the music in your heart and live it, not think about it. I suppose you’ll be wanting the keys as well.
Tony
Murphy, do you have the latest firmware for your NJB3 (so that you can control the gain level on the mic input)? If not, you ought to download and install it. You’ll be able to use a powered mic once you have that, although for the reasons I stated above its not entirely satisfactory.
– Scott
I wanted to follow-up to this thread to say that I had a chance to try the Archos pre-amp/mic combo at a session.
Overall I wasn’t entirely pleased. I still had to use a fair bit of gain in the Jukebox to bring the inputs up to a reasonable level. Beyond that, the mic didn’t seem to have a great dynamic range – it introduced a lot of distortion into the louder sounds.
To be fair, the setup wasn’t ideal. The mic was right next to my whistle. I intend to try again with the mic more centrally located, and with less gain amplification in the Jukebox. But it seems clear that the Archos preamp is not generally strong enough to drive the Jukebox line input.
– Scott